Molecular Medicine 2015
Area of Doctoral Study: Molecular Medicine, Cancer Biology Track,
Undergraduate Institute: Towson University
Research Advisor: Yun Qiu, Ph.D.
Current Position: Posdoctoral Fellow, NCI Technology Transfer Program
Description of Research
The overall theme of research in our lab is to study signal transduction within eukaryotic cells. We are particularly interested in elucidating the functions of several key protein kinases and nuclear receptors which are deregulated in human prostate cancer, namely Src, Etk/BMX, Pim-1, Class III beta-tubulin, and Androgen Receptor. Our lab has previously demonstrated that deregulation of these signaling molecules may play an important role in development of therapeutic resistance in human prostate cancers. My project is focused on a novel protein and its molecular contribution to chemotherapeutic resistance in advanced prostate cancer. Our lab has also recently branched out into study of several other epigenetic regulators of prostate cancer progression. Studying the mechanisms by which these proteins regulate their downstream signaling effectors will allow us to find better biomarkers of cancer detection and diagnosis, and will also pave the way for design of new, more effective drugs against cancer in the future.